Arrow to the Heart
by Xana Vlec
Summary: When Clint's jealousy gets the better of him and jeopardizes a mission, Natasha is furious. When they are sent on another mission together, they arrive in Budapest things start heading in downhill when she meets her old lover. With Alexei back in the picture, will Clint be able to win her heart back? Collab by OwlMay and Xana Vlec
1. Chapter 1

Natasha Romanov sat in a bar by herself. She wore a revealing black dress with her curly red hair pinned to one side. Her eyeliner was dark like her eyeshadow while her lipstick was a deep red. As she took a sip of her Vodka she began to grow impatient waiting for the leader of a gang that was supposed to be there. She and Clint had been sent on a mission in Venice, Italy to stop some gang from kidnapping women and using them as sex slaves. The thought of them made Natasha sick and she channeled the anger into trying her best to kill the leader, Callisto. She was in charge of poisoning him while Clint sat up high with his arrows ready just in case Callisto tried to hurt Natasha. She had everything under control, though.

A man with a scruffy black beard and tan skin sat next to Natasha. He ordered a drink and then looked around. Then he arched an eyebrow at the redhead sitting next to him. Natasha could feel him staring at her, but she didn't do anything yet. She needed to wait until he talked to her. So she took a sip of her Vodka and turned her head away from him.

"Excuse me, miss," Callisto said quietly. "Can I get you a drink?"

Natasha looked at him, a soft smile on her face. "Of course." She spoke in a quiet manner. Then she turned her head as Callisto ordered her a drink. Natasha discreetly looked around the bar though she knew that Clint would be perched up in Callisto's room. He would have his bow and arrow ready just in case Callisto would attempt to do anything bad to Natasha. But she definitely had it all under control.

"Here you go," he said, handing Natasha the drink. "My name's Callisto. What is a beautiful woman like you doing here all alone?" He smiled at Natasha again, making her mentally gag.

"I'm Natalie. And, well, I guess I just needed a night out." Natasha smiled at him and took a sip of the drink he had ordered for her. It was rather strong, taking Natasha off guard, though she kept her composure as best as she could.

Callisto said, "Ahh, I see. You are very beautiful, Natalie. I'm surprised no other men have been attracted to you yet."

Natasha forced a small, seductive smile onto her face. Then she hopped off the bar stool, leaning into Callisto. She then whispered, "Why don't we go somewhere more private with our drinks?" When she leaned away from him, she arched an eyebrow and grabbed his big hand. Gently, Natasha squeezed it. When his eyes lit up, Natasha forced herself to giggle. So far so good.

Callisto nodded and led her out of the barn. Down the long, red hallway was a small door. When he opened it Natasha immediately saw a large bed in the center. There were two bedside tables on either side. Suitcases were piled up against one of the walls. Natasha once again looked around discreetly, commenting on how good the room looked. In the shadows she could just barely see Clint sitting up in the rafters of the ceiling. Then she looked back at Callisto, who was taking another sip of his drink. There was just enough left for her to put the poison in. She needed to work fast.

"Why don't I play some music?" Callisto asked. Natasha quickly nodded. He set his drink down on the right bedside table and headed towards the shelf that had a radio on it. When his back was turned to her, Natasha grabbed the small, thin container out of her bra. Then she quickly opened the bottle and poured the poison into the glass. When she put the container back in her bra, Callisto was just turning around. He was still smiling as the soft music began to fill the room.

"Beautiful music," Natasha said quietly, a smile on her face again. "Very calming." Callisto was walking towards her and when he reached her, Natasha put her hands on both of his shoulders. He put his hands on her waist.

Callisto said, "Yes it is, Natalie." He took a hand off of her waist to take the last big gulp of his drink. He gave Natasha a quick unsure look, but continued to finish it. Then he set it back down, his hand going back to her waist. "Very beautiful, just like you." Callisto then placed a kiss on her cheek. Natasha kissed him passionately on the lips, but made sure that she wouldn't get any trace of the drink onto her lips. Callisto kissed her back, their lips moving with each other's. When Callisto pulled back, he was beginning to sway slightly. Natasha pretended to not notice and kept kissing him. She knew she didn't need to keep kissing him so passionately, but for some reason it felt like the right thing to do. Natasha had no idea why.

Finally, Callisto finally fell back onto the floor, coughing and gagging. Natasha innocently said, "Oh, I know I'm a bad kisser, but I'm not that bad." He then stopped breathing. "Okay, Hawkeye, I think we're good."

Hawkeye dropped immediately from the ceiling and stalked out of the shadows. A grim look lit his face as he stared at the dead body of Callisto. He stared at the man's dead face for a few moments before quickly snatching an arrow out of his quiver and firing it off into the man's skull for good measure. Before Natasha even said a word, Clint already had an excuse on his tongue. "I thought I saw him move."

"What the heck, Hawkeye?" Natasha turned on her partner and then stared incredulously at him. "He was already dead! You know that the poison wouldn't have left him alive! And you know that arrows are your trademark! Everyone will know it was us! You idiot! We have to figure out how to make it look like a gunwound or something! You're going to get us killed!" Her green eyes flashed dangerously as she bent down over the body. She harshly ripped the arrow out of Callisto's skull and tossed it at her partner.

Bits of blood and bone splattered around as Clint caught the arrow before it hit the ground. "You know exactly why I did that, Nat! You didn't have to go that far you know! He was going to die anyways so why did you have to keep on doing... that?" He couldn't bring himself to say that she had been kissing so passionately. No one should be doing that to **his** Natasha except for him! Of course he would have a problem with it!

"I'm a big girl, Hawkeye!" Clint noticed how she kept on dancing around saying his name. That either meant she thought secrecy was important or she was really really **mad**. For some reason he suspected the latter. "Don't you think I can take care of myself? Ugh! You're insufferable at times. Just get down here and help me clean up this mess!"

Clint flinched a bit at that. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. He dropped the bloodied arrow back into his quiver before crouching down beside the body. Natasha had been using one of her hidden knives to carve the entry point to make it superficially look more like a bullet wound. "Rotate him around so it looks like someone shot him from the doorway." Natasha ordered irritably.

Clint knew better than to resist her at this point. If he argued with her when she was like this he wouldn't doubt that she'd throw one of those knives of hers. He dragged around the limp body of Callisto before laying him back down into position. Every few seconds his eyes cast up to look at Natasha.

He hadn't meant to make her feel as if he was babying her, but it made him burn to see Callisto with his grubby hands on Natasha. Worse was the fact that the casual eye would have thought that she reciprocated his feelings! Couldn't she have stood to be a little less convincing?

As Hawkeye pouted, Natasha was fuming and tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. Her black dress concealed the blotches of red that would have adorned it if it were white. It was sweet that Clint worried about her, but she wasn't a child anymore and he had to understand that. She wanted to be seen as an equal and not a person to constantly mother over.

When she looked at Clint now, she realized he resembled a beaten puppy. Good. He deserved every bit of guilt that she was making him feel right now. She ran a hand through her auburn hair and sighed. "We should get out of here now. Someone is going to be looking for his body eventually and I don't want to leave any traces behind." Some part of her was saying that it was common sense that they leave the crime scene quickly. The other part of her just wanted to get this over with so she could punch something that wouldn't leave evidence.

"Right, right." Clint mumbled as he dropped the man limply onto the ground. A crack was heard as the body made a hard fall to the ground. It was Clint's way of spiting the man even if he no longer was able to feel it. He was in no way repentant for what he did. He was just a bit miffed that Natasha had responded so negatively. He couldn't help it though! He bet that she wouldn't have been so happy if it was him snogging another girl. Or at least he hoped she wouldn't be happy. In a mood like this it would have been hard to tell.

The thought pushed him even farther down into his gloom as he stepped away from the body. He turned to the window that he had used to enter and slid up the hatch. "Lady's first." He said casually. He immediately mentally chided himself afterwards after he received Natasha's chilling glare. She never had been one for formalities like that. Equality had been more of her deal. Now was a really bad time to remember that.

Natasha stiffly got up on the windowsill before crawling out onto one of the many clay shingled roofs. She balanced along the drain pipe before shimmying down the rain drain. She landed on the ground with a soft click of her heels and she looked up expectantly for Clint. Moments later, Clint descended to the ground.

He unhooked himself from around the pipe and looked over towards Natasha. It was like walking on a minefield. And he seemed to be consistently setting off mines. He wasn't sure if he should take the lead or if he should let her take front this time. However, he knew that if he stalled things would get uncomfortable quickly.

"Let's go." Natasha ordered in exasperation. Now wasn't the time to be getting irritated with him. She'd delay that to the very second they got in a safe zone. There was absolutely no way she was not going to chew him out over this. She was not even remotely close to done with him yet.

Clint nodded mutely and ambled after her as she began weaving her way through the streets. "You know that I didn't mean to offend you, Nat. It just that I hate it when you have to do things like that. You couldn't have liked it either could you?"

Natasha whirled around on him and gave him a sound smack in the face. "That's not what I'm irritated about you idiot. If you still can't figure out why then you're stupider than I thought." A downtrodden look crossed Natasha's face for a moment before it faded away. She turned away from Clint and continued walking down the street without saying a single word.

**Hey everyone, Xana here! This is the debut chapter of a new story that OwlMay and I are working on together! We hope you enjoy it and don't forget to send us a review if you do! ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

The ride back to base was quiet. Neither of them wanted to talk to each other after the argument they had after killing Callisto. Natasha couldn't believe that Clint was being so childish about all of this. She was tired of being treated like a child by him. It really wasn't fair. She was capable of doing anything and she sure couldn't finish missions with Clint practically breathing down her neck, always getting jealous when Natasha had to seduce someone. Natasha wasn't some little kid that had to be watched over. And before her and Clint had developed feelings for each other, they never had a problem with her seducing the enemy. But now he wasn't letting her do her job. Natasha was going to have a serious conversation with him. She decided to wait, though, so she wouldn't end up screaming and yelling in Russian.

"You're such an idiot," Natasha repeated for the tenth time since they got in the car. "Big fat idiot. You do realize that you really could have jeopardized the mission, right? God, you're so stupid." Natasha could have gone on with the insults, but she decided to save some later. She kept her arms crossed against her chest, staring out the window. The trees were beginning to lose their leaves and the grass was starting to die. Outside it was beginning to smell like fall. The summer breeze was now turning into a cool fall one that would send small shivers down Natasha's back.

Clint shook his head, tired of hearing her complain like that. "Whatever, Natasha. You were the one who decided to kiss him like that. You always do that and you know how much it pisses me off." He tightened his grip around the steering wheel and stared daggers at the road ahead of him. Clint tried his best to keep his cool so he wouldn't end up yelling at her. Yelling wasn't going to solve anything, but he knew it would at least make him feel a little bit better. "Can we just drop this already?"

"No," Natasha answered stubbornly. She wasn't going to let Clint off the hook that easily. When they reached the base, Natasha quickly jumped out of the car, not bothering to wait for her partner. Instead she walked right in, her curly hair bouncing on her back. A few agents tried to greet her, but she ignored them. The only one she actually acknowledged was Agent Hill, who told her to meet Director Fury in his office. Natasha nodded and quickly walked into the small office that was just down the hallway. Natasha took a seat and said, "Mission completed, sir."

Clint shuffled his way into the office, arching his eyebrows at Natasha. He then took his seat in front of the desk, smirking at Fury. "Callisto is dead. Mission complete."

"Good to hear," Fury said, not looking up from the file that he was going through. After a few minutes of utter silence, he finally looked up at them with his one eye. "I've got another mission for you two. I'm sure you two will be excited to hear that it's in Budapest! One of our bases there was taken over by an unknown group and there are hostages there. So we need the Black Widow and Hawkeye to go in and take back the base. A SHIELD jet will be taking you there. We've got bags packed for you on there. Am I clear?"

Natasha couldn't believe that she was going to be on yet another mission with Clint. She was just about to protest, but Clint said that everything was good and he pulled her out of the room. When the door slammed behind them, Natasha pulled her hand away and was about to scream at him. Though, she kept her composure and decided not to scream. Yet. Natasha walked past Clint and towards the back of the headquarters where the jets and helicopters were. Clint grabbed her arm before she could make it outside, though.

"Can I just talk to you?" He asked sincerely. Now he was sounding less angry and a bit more sorry.

"Nope," Natasha said headed for the jet. A male agent helped her into the jet and got situated in her seat. She pushed her red hair behind her, keeping it away from her face. Natasha watched as Clint got into the seat next to her. For a few minutes they didn't say anything. But silence was going to kill Natasha, almost. "I'm still pissed with you. You're lucky I didn't tell Fury what you did. If I did you so would have been out of a job. I just saved your ass, Clint. You should be thanking me."

"Would you cut the crap, Natasha?" Clint asked, getting angry with her again. "Jesus, you're so annoying. When was the last time you slept? You're so crabby."

Natasha scoffed and said, "I'm not crabby. You're just a poor sport. Why can't I just do my job? God, you're an_idiot._Get your jealously under control, Barton."

"Last name basis, perfect," Clint sighed and leaned back in his seat, blocking out the curse words that Natasha was throwing his way.

"I'm telling you to shut up and stop acting like a prissy little girl and all you got out of that was I used your last name? What is wrong with you? Can't you even pretend to care enough to take me seriously for a bit? Geez, Barton! I would have thought that after all these years you would think that something like stopping the drug trade would be a _tiny little bit_ more important that whether or not I kissed a man." Natasha ranted in frustration. Just why couldn't he get this? She wanted to save lives and he wanted her to stop that just because she kissed a few people?

"You could have stopped the trade whether or not you kissed them, Natasha." Clint rolled his eyes and looked pointedly away from her. This, of course, only served to irritate the red head even more.

"Maybe I could have, but that doesn't give you the authority to act like a jerk over it? Acting like a rational being instead of a self-serving pig might have helped. Not everything is solved by **shooting a dead person in the head**!" She annunciated the last part with obvious venom in her voice. "Do you know what will happen if they confirm that it was an arrow in his head instead of a bullet? You'll get a hit put on you. **Again**!"

Natasha raised her voice towards the end. "Do you remember the entire fiasco when you last had a hit put on you? It took months before it blew down and SHIELD had to take down nearly four different mafia groups to do it! People died for that and you seem to not have learned your lesson!"

"Oh, I get it. So you're still yammering about that? Natasha, do you think I wanted those people to die? Great, you think I want to start the rolls of death again? You sure do know how to make someone happy." Clint couldn't take any more of her complaining. Each word she spat at him was another stab to the heart. "I know their deaths are my fault. Stop reminding me about it! Do you think I haven't memorized all of their names? **Every. Single. One.**" He hissed back at her.

Natasha scoffed. "Obviously you haven't learned a single thing if you're willing to risk the same thing happening again! Just over a kiss? Get over yourself. It didn't even last more than an hour at the most! I'm a big girl, Clint. If you can't let me just kiss a guy to save a life then you obviously have issues."

"I'm not risking anything, Natasha! They won't find out so will you just relax!" It wasn't as much of a question as it was a shout now. He was at his wit's end about what to do with Natasha. Sometimes she just made him want to blow a fuse. "And issues? I have issues? By the time the snogging started he had already had the poison! You could have just danced and let him die, but no! Instead the love fest had to begin! I couldn't even do anything, but watch! I had to watch because he still could have moved against you! Heck, I had to watch every single move. You would have felt the same after that if you were watching me!"

Natasha's head whipped around to stare daggers at him. "I see. You're planning on doing a seduction mission to spite me? I never thought you would go so low, Barton. Or maybe you're just tired of having a woman with a bit of backbone. Go ahead and marry some weak little girl who bends to your whims! See if I care!" She did care, but he had a lesson to learn and he clearly as not learning it at all. After all this time and all of this fighting he didn't seem to be even remotely repentant. A bit of the good old fashioned, 'I'm sorry' could have helped.

"You know I don't mean that, Natasha! I just wanted you to put yourself in my position! Stop twisting my words into something they aren't! I love you and it pisses me off to see you making out with an old homicidal mafia man!" Clint rubbed his forehead in frustration. This was becoming worse and worse by the minute. People often said talking things over helped, but Clint was pretty sure they were lying now. Talking was only making it get rapidly worse and worse.

"I'm not _twisting your words_ as you deign to put it. There's something called subtext and you obviously meant it. Don't lie to me now, Barton. I'm not a school girl and I certainly won't fall for some cheap excuse about 'how I love you so much'. I want you to admit that you made a mistake, but you obviously are too bull-headed to even do that! I don't want to hear it unless it's an apology!" Natasha snapped back.

"There was no subtext! You are crabby today! Is it that time of month again because heck you're sure acting like a teenager on hormones. You obviously take me for nothing more than a liar if you can't tell when I'm telling the truth! I'm sorry! There, are you happy now?" Clint fired back sarcastically.

"No, I'm not happy! Sorry is just a word unless you really mean it. All I want is for you to be a man and see me as an equal and not a little pet to coddle! Is that too much to ask?" Natasha sighed and crossed her arms tightly. No, she was not sulking. She was thinking of a thousand painful ways to kill Clint which was another matter entirely.

"I'm not patronizing you, Nat." Clint leaned back into his chair with a sigh. "I just care for you. Is worrying about you such a crime? You are my equal, but you're also the girl I love. I don't want to see you with another man just like any other man wouldn't want to see his girl betraying him. Can't you see that?"

"Worrying, I can handle. What I can't handle is when you put lives at risk just because you can't control your jealousy for a split second. A split second is all it takes for everything to go to hell." Natasha turned away from Clint and back towards the airplane pilot who had wisely stayed silent during the entire argument. "When are we going to get there anyways?" She asked the pilot coldly.

"We still have a few hours, ma'am. I'll tell you when we're within an hour of our destination." The pilot gulped out nervously. Two super heroes that were nearly homicidal in the backseat was a pilot's nightmare.

"Good. I can't wait to get off and get some fresh air." _Away from him_. Were the words that didn't need to be said.

**Hey everyone! We really hope you're enjoying the fic! Thanks so much for reading! Send us a review and tell us what you think? **


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the air trip was filled with the obnoxiously loud silence. Tempers flared on both sides, but neither spoke a word and instead they both tormented the other with silence. Sometimes saying nothing at all was more painful than being insulted.

"W-we're here ma'am and sir." The pilot stuttered out.

"I think I could tell. The plane did just land after all and I would be stupid if I didn't notice." Natasha snapped irritably. She unbuckled her seat belt and immediately got out of her chair. She and grabbed her bag and swept past Clint to stand in front of the hatch that would lead out to the runway.

Clint sighed at the red head before taking off his own seat belt. This mission would be a complete downer at the rate this was going. He couldn't understand what was wrong with her. He had already done everything that she had asked him to do, but she was still as mad as ever. Women would always be a mystery to him.

The airplane hissed as the bolts lengthened out and the walkway dropped down onto the asphalt. Natasha strode out confidently and walked past the SHIELD agent that had been assigned to help guide them. "You won't be needed. Leave." She said coldly as she marched by. No one would be spared her wrath at the moment.

Clint followed after her and murmured an apology to the agent as he passed. "You don't need to be rude to everyone you know." He said as he caught up to Natasha.

"You've done enough lecturing for one day, Barton." Natasha replied stiffly. "Let's just get this mission over with. We have people to help and hopefully you won't screw it up." Clint frowned at this, but kept silent. If she wasn't in the mood to talk it wouldn't be wise to push her any farther than he had to.

"The base is centered under the Matthias Church so no explosives. We would never hear the end of it if we made the church crumple." Clint sighed. Turn about fair play, now she was the one lecturing him. He just had to roll with it though. It would pass eventually.

"Yes, ma'am." He tossed his bag over his shoulder so it jostled along with his quiver. "It has been a long time since we have been here, hasn't it?" He asked nostalgically. His hand tightened around the satchel strap. Budapest, he hated this place.

"Mmhmm." Natasha hummed back in response. As they walked back under the shade of the buildings, a faraway look entered her eyes. Clint could just faintly catch her mouthing the name 'Alexei'.

His eyes narrowed. He still remembered the blasted man as if it were yesterday. This was why he hated going to Budapest. He shouldered his way past Natasha and hurried towards the exit. He wanted to get this mission over with as quickly as possible.

Natasha walked slowly behind him, the faraway look still present in her eyes. It seemed like only yesterday she had been here. Those had been so much brighter days.

"_Natasha, come over here." His warm voice brought the young woman out of her stupor. She stood up from her seat at the table and walked around to where her husband sat. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and looked over at the newspaper that he had been reading. _

_Alexei kissed his wife softly on the cheek before gesturing back to the paper. "Things are finally beginning to cool down once more, don't you think? It has been a long war and I would be glad to see it over." _

_Natasha hummed in response and nuzzled into the nape of his neck and sighed. "It's a pity if it all ends before I get a chance to go into the field though. I've been training so long for this and it would be a waste if the war just ended all of a sudden." _

_Alexei laughed merrily and reached an arm back to stroke Natasha's hair. "Never fear, my love. There will always be plenty of evil in the world to fight against and there you will find your opponents." _

_Natasha pulled back and smirked. "But the only match for me is you. We'll always be together, right?" She asked more solemnly. _

"_Yes, my dear Natasha. We will always be together."_

Natasha ran a hand through her hair and sighed. Some days she wished Alexei was back. When Clint was acting like an idiot she was always brought back to the memories when she and Alexei had gotten along so well.

Natasha weaved through the busy crowd towards the Matthias Church. The Romanesque style building loomed in the distance and Natasha felt distinctly intimidated. A hand reached out to grab her and Natasha instinctively jerked back onto to realize it was Clint pulling her along. She frowned. Was this Clint saying that he didn't think she could keep up with him? The insufferable jerk.

She let herself be dragged along to the church, but as soon as they arrived she pulled her hand away from his and looked away. Wordlessly she walked past and towards the back of the large building. Near the employee closet was a second doorway without a name. It was the entrance to SHIELD's base. It was obvious enough so no one would expect it, but discreet enough so it didn't scream: secret base.

"I'll take point. You cover me." She said in a clipped tone. The redhead slipped a gun out of her side holster and twirled it around in her hand. She was as ready as she ever would be.

"Show off," Clint mumbled as he followed her into the base. The inside was quite beautiful. It was hard to believe that this would actually be their base. Usually they used old houses or apartments as a base, but Fury had really gone all out this time. He was thoroughly impressed with the man. Too bad he would have to spend the time at the base with a pissed off Natasha. Clint followed after her, rolling his eyes as she kept twirling the gun in her hand. There really was no reason to have it out. She just wanted to remind him that if he was going to continue to annoy the living shit out of him then she would blow his brains out. And she really wasn't scared to do such a thing. "Chill out, Tasha," Clint grumbled.

"Shut up, Barton," Natasha hissed and soon they were standing at the front of the church. There was a table out on the alter with maps and files sitting on it. Two other agents sat there, going over each and every file that was placed there. Natasha turned her head awkwardly to get a good look at the map without having to stand next to the two SHIELD agents. Clint stood next to her, trying to also get a good look at the map.

Clint looked up at the church, his eyes wide. "Man, this place is magnificent. I can't believe Fury was able to hook us up with this place. Definitely beats all the apartments and old houses that they would put us up at." He continued to look up at the ceiling, and then looked down to see Natasha rolling her eyes at him. He was about to ask her what her deal was, but he knew it would only start another right with her. Clint really hated the fights that they had. And they always made him feel like he was the bad guy. Natasha probably blamed him for every little quarrel that they had. Sometimes it really pissed him off to no end, but most of the time he just let it all go so the fighting would end faster. "Is it too late to request a new partner?" Clint asked himself.

Natasha slammed her hand down on the table, staring up at him with very pissed off green eyes. "Clinton Barton, I'm so tired of you! All you ever do is ruin missions and complain. Are you never happy? Jeez, I'd rather have Tony as a partner. At least he wouldn't compromise a mission! You are so infuriating, Barton." She flicked her head hair behind her shoulders angrily and then looked back at the two SHIELD agents who exchanged worried glances with each other. "Don't worry about it," she barked at them. "Just tell me all the locations and we'll get there." The agents nodded quickly and began to go over the map with her.

Clint walked away from her, knowing that all he needed was just a few minutes to himself. He could only handle Natasha for a certain amount of time, and this was definitely exceeding his limitation. There was a bench near a window and Clint sat down on it, fumbling with an arrow that he pulled out of the quiver that was attached to his back. He thought back to the last time he was in Budapest. The mission was quite a mess. He and Natasha remembered it very differently. He saw it as more of a positive mission while she saw it as more of a negative one. It was all because of Alexei, too.

Alexei.

"_Agent Romanoff," a SHIELD agent said with a very sincere and apologetic look on his face. He fumbled with his words a bit until Natasha yelled at him to spit it out. "Right, sorry. I'm sorry to inform you of this but your husband, Alexei, has just been confirmed as being dead. I'm very sorry for your loss." The agent walked away hurriedly._

_Clint looked over at Natasha who just looked down at the floor. Her long red hair covered her face as her chest heaved with light sobs. He wasn't exactly sure what to say. Her husband was now dead. She would never see him again. Clint, on the other hand, wasn't exactly sad about it. He and Alexei didn't really see eye to eye, so to him it wasn't much of a burden now that he was dead. In fact, it wouldn't affect him at all. Clint would be able to get on with his life without Alexei in it. But would Natasha be able to? He was her husband after all. They had been together for a good couple of years now. Clint almost felt bad for being kinda happy about the death. Almost. Clint Barton wasn't going to go all soft now._

"_Nat..." Clint whispered to his partner. "You okay?" He put a hand on her back, not exactly sure how to comfort somebody whose husband just died. "Well of course you aren't okay. It'll be alright, Tasha. You still got me."_

"_I know," Natasha whispered. Quickly she wiped away her tears and tried to keep her calm composure. "C'mon. We should get going to debrief the mission with Fury. We don't want to keep him waiting." Natasha headed out of the room that they had been standing in, but Clint grabbed her arm and pulled her back to his side. "What?" She snapped._

"_You're not fine. If you need time to cry then I can leave."_

"_The Black Widow doesn't cry. I'm fine, Clint. Now let's just leave Budapest, okay? It feels like we haven't been home in forever. And I really wanna take a nap and a shower. I probably reek of sweat." Natasha again went to go leave the room, but Clint pulled her back again. She gave him her death stare, putting her hands on her hips too. "Stop with the games, Clint. We gotta go."_

_Clint shook his head and said, "Cut the crap, Natasha. I know you're upset. Just go ahead and cry. I won't even look." He put his hands in front of his eyes to make a point. Natasha grabbed his hands away from his face, rolling her eyes in irritation. Then, for a few seconds, they both stared into each other's eyes like in some cheesy romantic movie. Clint had to stop himself from trying to kiss her. Her husband had just died. This was not the time to try and make a move on the beautiful redhead. But when she leaned up and kissed him lightly on the cheek, his heart took off for the moon. "What was that for?" He asked in confusion, trying to mask his happiness._

"_Just a thank-you for always being here for me, Clint. You really are a great friend. It means a lot to me. Alexei just adored you, I hope you know. It didn't really seem like that at first, but he really did think of you as a good guy." Natasha squeezed both of his hands, and then finally walked out of the room to go to the debriefing._

"_Crap," Clint whispered to himself and then followed after her._

He chuckled to himself, remembering that day. It was a sad day for Natasha, but it was also the start of their relationship that was now seeming to fall to bits. Clint looked up that the redhead that he was irrevocably in love with. He knew that no one would ever be able to take her away from him, so why was he making a big deal out of her job now? It was her job to seduce the men and Clint just couldn't stop her from doing her job. Sighing, Clint stood up and walked towards the table where Natasha was still standing. He grabbed her by the arm, but to Natasha's disliking. They both walked towards one of the windows and Clint kissed her as passionately on the lips as possible. Clint wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close.

Natasha pulled away, appalled at the kiss. "Still mad at you," she whispered through a smile.

"I still love you though."

**Hey everyone! May and I are having a blast writing this and I hope you have just as much fun reading it as we do writing it. We really appreciate each and every one of you readers. Tell us what you think of the chapter! If you have any ideas or suggestions feel free to tell us because we'd love to hear them! -Xana**


	4. Chapter 4

A SHIELD agent wandered up to the two and coughed to grab their attention. Natasha peeled herself away from Clint and brushed herself off daintily, casting a look in Clint's direction. "Yes?" She asked calmly. It was as if nothing had happened only a few seconds ago. Sometimes she made Clint want to tear his hair out. He was secretly beaming in his heart though. She hadn't pulled away with him instantly nor had she smacked him. That was a pretty darn awesome sign!

"We received a transmission from one of the hostages. He managed to hide a communicator in his cuff link so we got a message from him. He had to stop pretty early on because he couldn't risk being found, but he told us to hurry. Oh and he also said something that sounded like 'Comm SS', though we don't know what that is at the current time." The short man read off of his clipboard before looking up at the two agents in front of him.

Clint couldn't help but notice that Natasha turned unnaturally pale after hearing the second message that the man had sent. "What is it, Nat?" He asked softly, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"The Committee for State Security." Was all she said in response, but that was enough for Clint to understand. KGB was the acronym for the former Russian Security Service, also known by its English equivalent as the Committee for State Security. The KGB they were talking about could have referred to the Russian version or the Belarusian version, but Clint wasn't sure he cared to find out.

Clint stayed quiet and the awkward silence was prolonged until the stout agent said, "We can't wait much longer so please come this way." He wobbled away from the duo and towards one of the walls. His hand felt along the sides until he apparently found what he was looking for. He pushed on the panel which produced a sound click.

The sound of gears turning met their ears as a large section of the wall moved in before rolling over to the side. Clint walked towards the tunnel and peered into the underground. Lanterns lit the hallway every few feet, but mostly it was just a dump. Then he looked directly to his side. "Holy crap!" He jumped away from the wall and rammed back into Natasha.

"What the heck, Clint!" Natasha let out a muffled cry as she pushed Clint back and onto the floor. She sent him an incredulous look before looking into the tunnel to see what had started her partner. She gave an exasperated sigh before saying, "You're such a wuss. It's just a skull... " As her eyes travelled along the walls she paused before adding, "Ok maybe more than a single skull."

The catacombs of Matthias Church stretched out before them and snaked away into the distance. The distinct smell of death finally wafted towards them and Natasha scrunched up her nose. It was a mission though and she couldn't choose where she worked. "Get up and let's move already." The words didn't have nearly as much venom as she wanted them to have. Instead they seemed almost... light-hearted. She'd have to work on that if she was going to stay mad at him.

"Yes ma'am." Clint gave a mock salute and got up from the ground. He poked his head back into the catacombs before sighing. Natasha smacked him over the head before taking the first few steps into the catacombs.

The agent waved behind them as they quickly vanished away from his sight. For minutes all their heard was the sound of their own footsteps and the beatings of their heart. Clint tried to keep his attention on the mission as he gripped his bow tightly, but somehow he couldn't resist sending glances over towards his red-headed partner.

Was she still mad at him? She had said she was, but did she really mean it? He didn't really understand why she was so mad, but he hated having them be like this. He didn't want it all to fall apart. If he had to toss away his pride for a moment and apologize then he would, but would she accept it at this point? The thought froze him at that moment. Oh shoot, what if she planned on hating him for a good week or two? He had heard plenty of awful tales from the SHIELD agents about how their girlfriends took it upon themselves to ignore them for weeks on end to make sure that they were 'repentant'. That would be a freaking nightmare!

One glance soon led to another, and another, and soon enough Natasha was getting irritated. She wasn't blind and the never ceasing attention was beginning to aggravate her. "Barton!" She whirled on him and glared at him as she caught him in the act of looking at her once more. "You're obviously thinking about something and it obviously has something to do with me. Be a man and spit it out!"

Clint paused as his thoughts continued to race through his head. Good lord, she had caught him! It was now or never. His mind was freaking out as he said, "I'm really sorry, Nat. I really didn't mean to offend you. Will you forgive me?" He bowed slightly and clamped his eyes shut. He honestly looked a lot like a child begging for forgiveness after doing the terrible deed of stealing from the cookie jar. To reject his apology would be like kicking a puppy and then laughing at its misery.

Natasha really couldn't believe Cling was throwing away his pride and apologizing to her. Usually they just let it go, not even bothering to say sorry to each other. She looked down at the floor, knowing she had to accept his apology. But she was still so mad at him for compromising the mission, she didn't know if she quite had it in her heart to accept the apology. Clint really needed to learn that this was her job and there was nothing he could do to stop her from doing it. But this was actually the first time he got so jealous when she had to seduce the enemy. Natasha wondered what exactly came over him when they were on the mission. She didn't bother to ask, though. It only meant Clint was going to get all sappy again on her, and she really wanted to avoid that.

"Fine, apology accepted," Natasha breathed after a few minutes of silence. She was then surprised when Clint pulled her in for another hug. "We've got a mission, Barton. Don't forget about that." Natasha pushed against his chest, trying to free herself from the hug. Clint only pulled her closer, chuckling while he did so. "Oh, you're so hilarious."

"Why thank you," he replied. Clint then finally let go of her, letting Natasha take a few steps back and flick her hair behind her shoulders. "Alright, let's keep walking." Clint grabbed her hand and started walking deep inside the Matthias Church, where he could now begin to smell death. He crinkled his nose and contemplated on just holding his breath.

Natasha freed her hand from him and said, "I can do this all on my own. I'm a big girl, remember that. I'm going to go down this hallway. You take that one. We'll meet up here in ten minutes, got it?" Her voice was hard as she spoke, trying to keep herself professional. She didn't bother to wait for Clint to respond to her orders. Simply, she quickly walked down the hallway that was to the right of her. It was dark and narrow with an eerie silence. Natasha couldn't help but always look over her shoulder. It felt like someone was watching her and Natasha hated that feeling. A few times she looked behind to for safe measures. Then she took her gun out of her holster, just in case there was someone stalking her. But how would they have gotten into their base? Well, it was probably easy. Either they broke in by going through windows or there were backdoors that they could get in from if they picked the locks. Natasha tried not to scare herself by thinking about that. If need be she could just call Clint and he would help her look through the hallway.

No, she wasn't going to give in like that. Natasha could do this all on her own, without Clint's help. She was going to do this and then get back to where she had left him at. There's was nothing to be so scared about. She could do this. Natasha put her hand on the trigger of the gun, then brought the gun up close to her cheek so she was ready to shoot anything that moved.

There was a sound of glass breaking and Natasha held out her gun to where the sound was sounded. She held her breath, but when nothing popped out to attack her, she put her gun down and breathed out. All she was was paranoid.

"Jeez, calm down, Natasha," she whispered to herself. Natasha put her gun back in the holster and kept walking down the hallway that seemed never ending.

A hand was put around Natasha's mouth and she tried to scream, but only a muffled choke came out. She was pushed to the ground where her ribs were kicked and kneed. When they finally let up, Natasha looked up to see three men standing over her. Great, just great. This was all she needed. Clint was never going to let her live this down. He would never let her do anything alone anymore. Silently she cursed his name.

"What are...you...doing here?" Natasha choked out. She tried her best to calm herself down so she could continue asking questions. "How the hell did you get in here?"

One of the men said, "We have our ways. And we need to make sure SHIELD stays out of our way. We knew they would send you and Hawkeye. It was too obvious. So in order for our plan to work, we need to make sure you two are out of the picture." He then kicked Natasha in the ribs again, making her fall down to the floor. Her hair was now covering her terrified face, though she was trying her best to mask it. "So the little spidey is all by her lonesome? How sad." Another kick to the chest. "How terrifying...for you." A kick to the face. "If only your little hawk friend was here." A pull to her hair, making her head go back. A punch to the face. "You aren't that tough."

Natasha regained her wits and grabbed the wrist of the man who was pulling on her red hair. She twisted it, a smile on her face when she heard the satisfying crack in the bone. Once he was down, Natasha kicked the man that was next to him right in the chest, sending him flying to the floor. He got up, though, and punched Natasha in the face a good three times. When he went in for the fourth punch, she moved her head just in time and he stumbled forwards a bit. She kicked him in the butt and he fell to the floor once again. Next was the interrogator. He pulled out a gun, aiming for her head. Natasha went still, then, not wanting to be shot in the head.

When he cocked the gun, Natasha closed her eyes and prepared for death. But when she heard a muffled shriek, she opened her eyes to see an arrow going through his chest.

Clint.

"Looks like Hawkeye had to come and save the day," Clint announced, jumping down from a rafter. She had no idea how he could have gotten up there, but didn't bother to ask. "You alright? They really did a number on you."

Natasha now realized there was sharp pain in her chest. It was hard for her to breath, but she pretended that she was fine. Slowly, she nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." She hated having to thank him for saving her life. "We should probably take in these guys. And there's probably way more where that came from. I bet they are just roaming around this place." She looked up at the ceiling, wondering if there were any up there that would jump down and attack them. Natasha then turned around, heading to go grab the guy that she had beaten up first. But the pain was too much and she fell to her knees.

"Tasha!" Clint said, running over to her. He put a hand on her back, and then moved in front of her so he could see her bruised face. "You're not alright. I'll have the other agents grab these guys. You need some medical attention."

"I'm fine," Natasha snapped. She wasn't going to let Clint baby her like this.

"But-"

"I'm _fine._" Natasha stood up, wobbling a bit at first, but went to go grab the unconscious gang member. She was the Black Widow. This was nothing, right?

**Hope you liked the story! Send a review if you do! (;**


	5. Chapter 5

The monitors reflected the fight as a man watched them with nervous interest. He watched as the woman was punched multiple times in the face before she made her move. A grim sort of satisfaction raced through him as he watched the fight. He was supposed to be supporting his own men, yet he could not wish the woman ill.

When the interrogator held a gun to her head, the man's jaw clenched. His mind secretly prayed for his man to drop the weapon, for him to do anything but shoot his target. As an arrow punctured through the man's chest, he had to without a sigh of relief. The redheaded woman was safe once more. He had the monitor zoom in to the woman's face and his face softened. "Natasha..." He whispered her name softly. "It has been too long."

His hand caressed the screen before he stepped away from the crowd of monitors. "I will have to remedy that, won't I?"

* * *

Clint sent a worried glance over towards Natasha. She had repeatedly told him that she was fine, but he had a hard time believe that. Not with the way she was holding her arm tightly to her side as she walked. He didn't get to see all that had happened, but it couldn't have been good. He really wanted to force her back outside to rest from her injuries, but she had already turned his offer down once. Asking again would have been downright patronizing.

He hoped that she didn't overthink that he was there. After all, she had explicitly told him to go down the _other_ hallway. He kept a hand on his quiver as his eyes searched around the hallways. The lanterns cast dim lighting that faded every few steps before appearing once more. It was unnerving. Whenever he saw the wavering of a shadow he immediately went on edge only to find it was flicker of a candle. However, he couldn't let down his guard. Especially when Natasha was still looking like that.

The redhead put a hand up to her forehead as she walked through the darkness. A dance of purple and white lines whirled through her head, a sign of an oncoming headache. She refrained from shaking her head to not worry Clint. She was Black Widow; she could pull through this. A headache was nothing compared to the agents that had been captured. Who knew what had happened to them? They could be being tortured or they might have already been killed. She couldn't just wait and take a tylenol.

The small hallways made her nervous. Every so often they walked into a larger clearing, but those were few and far between. The catacombs went every which way and new paths intersected almost every few feet. There was no end of places that enemies could emerge from. The sound of their footsteps seemed louder in her ears as she searched for any sign of an enemy. A few times she heard the cracking of bones in the walls and she felt literally ill at the sound. Catacombs were really awful places to be.

One of these times, the Black Widow got distracted. One of those times, someone noticed she was distracted and that person wasn't Clint. A bullet snapped through the darkness and hurtled into the wall beside Natasha. She dropped to the ground as the bullet ricocheted into the ground beside her. Her hand went immediately to the semi-automatic in her holster and she whirled around to face her opponent.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Clint already in hand to hand combat with a dark clothed man. She barely had time to move before she was met with her own opposition. She flipped backwards as a fist come flying at her. The brass knuckles glinted in the dim light as she fired a shot off towards the man, hitting him in the chest. With the first man down she went for another only to hear the telltale sound of a knife slicing through the air.

She whirled around and held her hand gun before her as the parachute knife slammed against the gun. She grunted as she threw off her attacker and fired another shot. Blast these catacombs! They were swarming in from absolutely everywhere! As she fired at the man in front of her, she sensed another man behind her and instinctively ducted to have the man tumble over her. She shot him clean in the head before taking a quick glance around.

Clint had never been particularly handy in hand to hand combat. He was a sniper, plain and simple, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight. He gripped the handle of his bow tightly as he swung the sharpened edge of his bow towards his first assailant. The edge sliced through the man's skin and he went falling away as one of his comrades went to take his place.

The adrenaline rushed through his veins as he continued to fight. Duck and slice, dodge and hit. He didn't even notice that he was slowly being edged back the way he had come; he was too busy with the battle. Quickly he and Natasha drifted farther away from each other until they could hardly see one another, but still they fought. They couldn't let themselves get distracted for a single moment.

Natasha realized that she was getting farther and farther apart from Clint. She wanted to yell out to him, but she couldn't find her voice. Men were coming at her from her left and from her right, and soon she realized that she was going to be overwhelmed in a matter of seconds. She kind of wanted Clint at her side, but she needed to remember that she had to prove to him that she was capable of fighting men off all by herself. As Natasha threw punches, kicks, and shot men in the head, her heart began to race faster and faster. Her breath was caught in her throat when a man grabbed her hair and pulled her back into a room.

She fell to the floor, the wind getting knocked out of her. Who the hell dared grab Natasha by her hair and pull her into this dark room? But she wouldn't have much time to question it, for two men grabbed her wrists and pulled her up. They then pushed her against a wall and were replaced by a man keeping his hand on her chest so she was restricted to the wall. Still Natasha's breath was caught in her chest and she could feel herself panicking. No, she needed to stay calm in a situation like this. Where was Clint? Now she really wanted him at her side. He would be able to get her out of this. Natasha pursed her lips and tried to break free from the men. But he was just too strong for her, which was a bit weird. No one was stronger than the Black Widow. At least, that's what Natasha thought.

"Natasha, calm down." A man said. Natasha could just see his silhouette. His voice sounded a bit familiar, but she didn't bother to try and think about it. All that was going through her head was an escape plan. And she was really hoping Clint was already on his way there to get her and help her out of this. But until then, Natasha just needed to stay calm as best as she could.

"Who the hell are you?" Natasha choked out in a raspy voice. Still she was struggling to get away from the man that was restricting her to the wall. The man who had been speaking to her put a hand on his shoulder, and the man walked off to stand off to the side of Natasha. She looked up at him, angry and annoyed. "Tell me, _now_!"

The man was grinning from ear to ear. "Do you not remember me, Natasha? After all we've been through?" He sounded so sincere. And why the hell did his voice sound so familiar? It was really going to eat Natasha alive.

"Well I can barely see you since it's so freaking dark in here!" Natasha spat back, glaring up at the man. Her red hair was all over in her face and the man pushed it back. Quickly she grabbed his hand, twisting it until there was a cracking sound.

Two men ran up and restricted Natasha again. She watched as the silhouette of the man rubbed his hand. Slowly he said, "Let me get the lights. Then you will know me." He walked over and flicked the small lightbulb on. Natasha's eyes went wide when she realized who this man was.

Alexei.

Natasha could feel her lip trembling. No, she wouldn't cry. But Alexei was really alive. He was alive! He wasn't dead!

"Alexei?" She choked out. "Is that really you?"

"In the flesh."

"B-but you're dead. When I was last here an agent told me you died." Natasha shook off the grip of the men. She walked up to Alexei, looking him in the eye for a moment. Then she raised a hand and slapped him across the face. "How dare you make me believe that you had died! How could you? We were _married, _Alexei! I loved you. And then you go and pull a stunt like that?" Natasha pursed her lips and took a step back from him. Discreetly she pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Well, she was awake. How could this be happening? The man she loved was really alive. He was alive!

Alexei sighed and said, "I'm sorry, but it was for your safety."

"I'm the one who was the Russian spy and assassin. Why did _you _have to keep _me _safe?" Natasha couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Now she barely even knew Alexei. Everything she knew was a lie.

"The KGB had me do it."

"You joined them?" Natasha screeched.

"Yes."

Natasha turned away from him, not sure what to do anymore. Clint was going to be on his way here soon to find her. And she sure as hell wasn't going to let him find out Alexei was alive and apart of the KGB. This was going to be something that she would have to deal with on her own, without Clint's help. No one that was a part of SHIELD could find out that Alexei was alive, and probably the key to completing this mission. He would know where the hostages are.

"Where are they?" Natasha asked. She spun around, her red hair in her face. "Where are the hostages?"

"Not here," he said slowly.

"Take me to them."

"I'm afraid that's out of the question." Alexei now had a smile on his face. "Don't you want to pick up where we left off, Natasha? Or should I say Natalia? We were perfect together. Yes, we were married. I want to go back to that. Do you think about me every day? Did you mourn?"

Natasha nodded her head slowly. "Of course I mourned, but in secret, of course. You were my husband. But I'm on a mission now and I need to get those hostages back to SHIELD. So if you can't cooperate, then I guess I'll just have to find them myself."

"What about your partner?" Alexei asked. "Hawkeye, right? I know you have feelings for him, Natalia."

"It's Natasha."

"Whatever!" He screamed. "I want you back, Natasha. Please."

"He'll be here soon," Natasha said, heading for the door. "If you can't help me then I guess I just don't know you anymore." Quickly she opened the door and ran out of the room. She slammed the door and ran down the hallway to find Clint. When she saw him, she quickly pulled him into a hug.

But she would have to keep this secret. Natasha was going to fight Alexei on her own, without Clint's help. She had unfinished business with him. But Natasha really couldn't believe that her husband was alive! Or, ex-husband? She really had no idea.

"What the hell happened?" Clint asked her skeptically, pulling away from her grip. "You look like you've just seen a ghost. What's going on?"

"N-nothing," Natasha choked out. "Let's just get back to the other agents, okay?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you have any ideas or comments feel free to send us a review! (; And also make sure to check out OwlMay's fics if you haven't done so already! She's amazing. *-***


	6. Chapter 6

How could Alexei be alive? Alexei _had _to be dead, but yet she saw him only a few moments ago! She walked across the room and back again as her mind whirled around in circles. Alexei, her husband, was alive, what was she supposed to think? Was she supposed to be happy that her loved one had returned from the dead, or was she supposed to be angry that she had lived a lie for years now? She had shed her KGB leaders a long time ago as they had nothing left to keep her since Alexei was dead, but now he was back. He was back.

"Nat? What's wrong?" Clint's voice cut through her thoughts, and Natasha stopped her pacing. She looked over her shoulder towards Clint and gave a sigh. Clint was her partner now, not Alexei. He annoyed her at times, nearly all the time actually, but she still cared about it. But she cared about Alexei too. But what Alexei had said about Clint troubled her. He had said that she had feelings for Clint, and she didn't deny it. She did love him, and clearly it was obvious enough for Alexei to tell. Alexei had said that he wanted her back, so would he hurt Clint to do it? Argh, it was all so confusing!

"Nothing, Clint. I was just wondering how they came upon us so quickly," she lied quickly. She needed to deal with Alexei herself. It wasn't something that Clint had to get involved in, and she didn't particularly want him involved. Alexei was her husband or was her husband, but in any case, he was her responsibility and no one else's.

Clint frowned at her response and cocked his head to the side. He wasn't stupid. He knew it was something more than that. Natasha had never gotten so stressed out about something as simple as an ambush. There had to be something more that she wasn't telling him. He had just thought their relationship was easing back to being normal again, but now she was distancing herself from him again. It wasn't anything that he did; she would have confronted him about it if it was the case, but she wouldn't say a word.

He couldn't force her to say anything and instead tried to diver the conversation in another direction. "The SHIELD agents combed through the rest of the base and said they couldn't find any signs of the culprits in here. They've got to be somewhere in Budapest with the lost agents. Did you hear anything during the fight?"

That was right, Alexei had told her about-Alexei again! Natasha ran a stressed hand through her hair as she wished that she could shove Alexei out of her thoughts. She willed herself to forget the source of her information as she replayed the conversation in her head. Had there been any clues to where they had moved the hostages? No, he had just said that they weren't within the base. So where could they be?

Her mindscape filled with images of the town, many of which contained memories of her time with Alexei. She tried to ignore the images of her husband as she sorted through places where they would be able to hide the hostages. It would be a sentimental place to the KGB. It would have been built a long time as a final stronghold, but it would be something that would never undergo renovations. On the other hand, it would have to be trafficked enough so that it wouldn't be suspicious if they walked dozens of people over there.

Not the National Gallery, not the Basilica, not the Parliament, so where would it be? "Nat? Are you listening?" Natasha held up a silencing finger before jumping back into her thoughts.

_"What is this, Alexei?" A young Natasha asked as she traced her fingers over the smooth stone._

_"It's the Soviet War Memorial, my dear," said Alexei with a smile. "It was erected to give honor to those that died to create our government. An honorable cause, indeed, don't you think?"_

_"Mmhmm," Natasha hummed absentmindedly. She looked up at the bronze star on the top on the monument and said, "I think I like it. A beautiful monument for a beautiful purpose, don't you think?" She turned around and gave a cocky smile._

_"Of course, my dear Natalia. Of course," Alexei replied with a chuckle._

"Of course," Natasha repeated the words of her memory as she snapped her fingers. She whirled away from Clint and dashed out the doors. The redhead heard Clint give out a yelp of surprise as she left the building, but didn't stop to explain. She didn't want Clint following her if she was to find Alexei. She still had to talk to him, and she didn't want Clint around when she had her talk with Alexei.

Behind her, Clint was left standing in the dust without a clue as to what was going on.

Clint watched Natasha run off. What had gotten into her? Ever since their little fight with those Russians, she had been acting rather odd. He wondered what could have happened when he was preoccupied with the other men. But it must have been something big to set Natasha off her game, which wasn't ever likely. He walked towards the doors, opening them and leaning against the door frame as she ran off. Where could she even be running to? Clint took out his comm link and started out the door. He would be able to catch up to her, surely.

Soon he was running through the streets of Budapest, keeping his breath sweaty and keeping up a good pace. Clint could just barely see Natasha's fiery red hair as he chased after her. She was also keeping up a good pace, but was staying much more ahead of Clint. As Clint rounded many corners, his breath became short and sweat was dripping from his forehead. Many people stared at him as he ran past them quickly. The only thing that kept him on Natasha's trail was her hair that he could practically see from miles away.

"Natasha, come in, Natasha!" Clint yelled into his comm link as he ran. There was no answer and he felt like throwing it to the ground. Where the heck was she going? This wasn't like her at all. She knew that when they were on a mission she had to stick with Clint. Natasha just couldn't run off like that! She could easily be jeopardizing the mission.

Clint rounded another corner only to run into a crowd of people and trip over their feet. He landed on his side, his skin rubbing up against the concrete and breaking open. For a second he just lied there, trying to regain his wits. He then looked up at where Natasha had run towards. Her red hair couldn't be seen anymore. Clint got up, angry that he had lost her.

He jogged down the road, grabbing his comm link and repeatedly calling Natasha. "Hawkeye to Black Widow, come in Black Widow!" There was no answer at all. Clint stopped jogging and ran a hand through his drenched blonde hair. Natasha was definitely going to ruin this mission. He needed to know what exactly she was running to. Clint continued down the road at a walk, just hoping that maybe he would be able to find her.

Natasha stopped her running once she came across the Soviet Monument. She looked behind her, hoping Clint was off her trail. The whole time she was running she knew that he had been following her. And that was exactly why she ran through the crowd. Clint wouldn't expect it and would lose her there. And it seemed her plan worked. Natasha turned back to the monument, looking it up and down. She remembered when she and Alexei had visited it. He was smart to keep this as his hideout. He knew that Natasha would be smart enough to come to this place when in search of him. Natasha smiled to herself and took a few steps closer.

"_Black Widow to Hawkeye, come in Black Widow!" _Clint said over the comm link. Natasha fished it out of her belt, eyeing the comm and turning it off. She didn't want to speak to Clint, let alone even hear his voice. She knew that when she went back to base, he would give her a lecture about how stupid she was for running off like that. And Natasha wouldn't be able to tell him why she ran away from him. Alexei was alive, and he couldn't know about it.

A voice came over her shoulder, and she turned to see Alexei. "You were smart to come here," Alexei said, putting a hand on Natasha's shoulder. She shook him off, eyeing him and forming a grimace on her face. "You seem upset."

"Of course I'm upset, Alexei. I thought you were dead for so long. But then I find out that you're alive and you've joined the KGB. Alexei, what's happened to you?"

Alexei said, "I've seen a new way, Natalia! You should join me and leave SHIELD. You know that that is not a place for you."

"It's better than the KGB and the Black Widow Ops," said Natasha. "And I met Clint through SHIELD. And I like Clint. I don't want to betray him."

"Is this puppy love, Natalia?"

Natasha shook her head and bit her cheek. Alexei led her over towards the semi-circle of the monument. He tapped it with the tip of his toe, and Natasha gasped when a small part of the concrete flipped up, showing stairs and darkness. She was skeptical to go with Alexei, but he grabbed her wrist tightly and practically pulled her inside.

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**Author's Note: Hey everyone! We hope you enjoyed the chapter! Send us a review if you did! It really helps motivate us to keep plugging out these chapters. (:**

**In case you didn't know, OwlMay and I are creating a writing group called the Tesseract Project. We plan to begin meetings at the beginning of next month, but now we're looking for members! PM one of us if you want to apply to get in! All that's really needed for an application is an already posted Avenger's story so we can see your writing style. Hope to see you all soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

Natasha was surprised when Alexei led her down the stairs. The main room was darkened, but she was able to see all of his workers moving around the room and looking over different maps and files. There were different rooms surrounding the main room, where agents were walking in and out of. The ceiling was low and the floor was pretty dirty. Natasha looked over at Alexei, who had a big smile on his face and was walking towards the desk that was near the far wall. She followed him, giving all the agents dirty looks as they stared at the Black Widow. They were most likely expecting her to come. Natasha stopped in front of Alexei's desk, where he sat and smiled at her.

"What do you think?" Alexei asked her. Natasha shrugged and gave the room another look around. "Impressive, huh? We've been in here for a while. A good few months or so. My agents are very hard workers. Natalia, can you just imagine what we could achieve if we had you on our team. The Black Widow would bring us to fame. You don't belong at SHIELD."

Natasha shook her head. "Alexei, I'm not going to join your...whatever it is you're doing here. What are you doing here, exactly? You know, I've got a mission that I need to finish up. I'm not here to play games. You should know that." She watched as Alexei stood up and leaned across the table, so he was just inches away from her face. "Alexei."

"You're a smart one, Natalia," Alexei said slowly. "Take a wild guess. Why would I show up in Budapest with the KGB at the same time you come with SHIELD to deal with a hostage situation?" He arched an eyebrow at her and smirked. Natasha looked at him with wide eyes, figuring out that he was the one she was supposed to be stopping.

"You need to let those hostages go," Natasha said sternly. She wasn't going to play games with Alexei at all. "I'm not playing, Alexei. I don't care if we used to be married. You will let those hostages go or I will put a bullet through that thick skull of yours. Do I make myself clear?" It was weird talking to Alexei like that. She used to love the man. Now it seemed he was going to be her enemy. So much had happened in the last couple of hours, Natasha could barely think straight. "Please, Alexei. I really don't want to kill you." Her hand was reaching for her gun that was in her thigh holster.

Alexei nodded to two men and they grabbed both of her wrists, pinning her hands behind her back. Natasha struggled against their grips. He said, "Natalia, we used to love each other. In fact, I still do love you. What has SHIELD done to you? Was it that Clinton Barton boy? Hmph. They don't allow you to reach your full potential. SHIELD is holding the Black Widow back! You could do wonders with the KGB. Just think about it, Natalia. You learned so much in the Red Room. You should use it."

Natasha hated thinking about the Red Room. When he mentioned it, she winced and pursed her lips. The Red Room was probably one of the worst times of her life. It was something that she had tried to put in her past. But it now seemed to be rising up to haunt her once again. What Natasha did in the Red Room haunted her. She never spoke about it, not even to Clint, though he tried many times to get her to at least tell him about it. Natasha was forced to kill in that terrible place. She had ended so many innocent lives.

"Just shut it and let those hostages go," Natasha said through her gritted teeth. "I'm with SHIELD. Get used to it, Alexei. I want nothing to do with the KGB or you. My life has been so much better without the KGB. SHIELD has actually helped me. Now give me those hostages before I take down all your men, kill you, and take those hostages myself. I'm sure it would be quite embarrassing for your little group here to be taken down by one lone woman." She tilted her her head and raised both of her thin eyebrows. "Easy way or the hard way. Take your pick."

Alexei gave her a stern look and sat back into his chair. "Those hostages are mine, Natalia. They will stay here. Kill me if you wish, though."

"I've got a better idea," Natasha blurted out. "We'll do a trade. I'll join your group if you let those hostages go."

Alexei raised a brow. Was she serious? A smirk crossed his face. And she said she was completely against joining him. Natasha just couldn't stay away from the KGB forever, it seemed. "Accepted," he said simply. He smiled complacently and knitted his fingers together. He looked up at Natasha as a flurry of emotions crossed her face. The first and foremost being: _holy crap, did I really just do that?_ And the second being: _Clint is going to murder me! Or better yet, I should just kill myself before that happens!_

"Now, now, Natalia. We had a deal. The Black Widow never goes back on her word, does she?" He rested his head on his hands and gave a sly smile towards the redhead. Natasha took a step back before a look of uncertainty crossed her face. Sure, she had said that she'd join him if he let the hostages go, but it was in the moment! She hadn't really expected him to accept.

"Aren't the hostages important to you?" She questioned. Maybe she could get him to change his mind?

"Not as important as you are, Natalia," he replied easily.

"Shouldn't there be a higher up that you should consult about this? It's a big decision for you to make on the fly."

"I am the higher up, right now. I decree it is all right, therefore it is all right," Alexei said with a playful smirk on his face. Natasha thought that a smirk looked decidedly better on Clint's face than Alexei's. "I've already accepted, Natalia. You can't worm your way out of that."

Natasha bit her lip tightly before nodding. Perhaps one of the hostages could get the word about about what happened. "Let me talk to one of the hostages. I need them to carry a message back to SHIELD to tell them where I have gone."

"Granted. We'll bring one of them in here." Obviously, Alexei was not going to risk her wandering out of his sight just yet. He motioned to one of the men stationed in the room and the grey cladded guard clicked his heels together and gave a salute before exiting the room. Natasha looked back to Alexei tiredly and rubbed her forehead. What was she going to tell the hostage to say?

This had gone FUBAR, plain and simple. She was supposed to be here to come free the hostages and head back to SHIELD. One out of two wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. She had to get back to SHIELD, but she had just promised to join them. Maybe it was a bad plan to go in without Clint. She clenched a fist at the thought. She didn't want to admit that she may have needed his help, but obviously Alexei had gotten her down here and had gotten her to agree to join him. If Clint was here, this never would have happened.

The guard came back with one of the scientists, a bespectacled brunette, and dragged her over to Natasha. The scientist had a flicker of hope behind her red rims, but they were soon doused by Alexei who came to wrap an arm around Natasha's shoulders. Natasha fought off the urge to swat the arm away. It wasn't that her heart was telling her that it was wrong to be hugged by him persay, but the fact that it was being done in front of a SHIELD operative. That meant that Clint would hear about it, oh what was she thinking now? She had to get a message back to Fury!

"Tell Barton that there has been a hostage swap. My life for all of the former hostages." She looked over towards Alexei, unsure of how much more she could say. Obviously, if she told the lady to tell Fury that Natasha was only pretending to help the KGB, Alexei would kill the scientist. Natasha wracked her brain to think if there was anything else to say, but all the possibilities would lead to the death of the scientist. "That will be all," she ended tiredly. She tried to let her face show what her words couldn't. She looked the woman directly in the eyes and tried to communicate her feelings before the brunette was hustled away.

Where was she? Clint was pacing back and forth inside of the base, waiting for Natasha. It had been a few hours since she had just run out. He had tried literally everything to figure out her location. Her GPS trackers had been damaged, even the ones that he planted on her without her knowing, her comm link was turned off, and he had typed almost nineteen text messages. Nothing was working. By this time, he was panicking.

"They're back! The hostages have returned!" A joyous voice called out from the entrance. Clint whipped around and dashed to the entrance. He looked among the heads of the returnees, but his redheaded partner was not among them. A pit clenched in his stomach as he tried again. She had to be there. She was the one that brought them back, right?

"Sir? Are you Agent Barton?" Clint stopped his search to look down at a brown haired woman coming towards him. She pushed her glasses and shuffled nervously as she neared him.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" Clint knew the feeling. This was the feeling he got when some horrible news was about to be told to him. It was like this when he figured out that he was being chased as a criminal and it was like this when he heard that Phil had died.

"Um... Well..." The woman stuttered for a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Agent Romanoff told me to tell you that she performed a hostage swap for us and that now she's under their jurisdiction." The lady in the white lab coat bowed quickly before scuttling off, leaving a dumbstruck Clint behind.

Over and over in his heads were the words: their jurisdiction. Natasha had given herself up? She would never give up, right? That couldn't be his Nat! She would never give up, much less give herself up, to the enemy! The cheering crowds around him drowned out his thoughts as he was the only one feeling as if the world had come crashing down. _Nat, please be all right._

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**Author's Note: Sorry this is late, guys! I had debate camp this past week so I wasn't able to write for the collab. ): I hope you enjoy this chapter! Review if you do, and we'll try to hurry up with the next chapter!**

**Psst, it's OwlMay! I took over the Author's Note for a bit here. I hope you all are enjoying mine and Xana's collab! We are having a ton of fun writing this. So leave a review and tell us what you are thinking of the story so far(:**


	8. Chapter 8

"You can stay in here," Alexei said, leading Natasha into a room at the end of a hallway. The room was small and consisted of just a bed against the wall. It was dusty, muggy, and awfully hot. Natasha stepped in, took a look around the room, and gave Alexei a displeased look. "Oh, c'mon. It's not that bad, Natalia. You'll get used to it. Plus, we probably will not be staying here for too much longer. Our work here is almost done now that you decided to trade yourself in for the hostages." He paused for a moment and leaned against the frame of the door. "Besides, we'd rather not spend most of our time in Budapest. We've got other places to go. So, enjoy your stay in here. I'll come get you when it's time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Natasha crossed her arms against her chest and sighed. "You're really going to treat me like a prisoner, Alexei? I thought you trusted me." She sat down on the bed and ran a hand through her red hair. Alexei pushed off of the doorframe and took a couple steps closer to Natasha. "I'm not going to run away or anything."

"You're the Black Widow," Alexei hissed. "Of course you would try to run away. Or you'd send for your beloved team to come find you and bring you back. I'm not taking any chances." Alexei walked towards the door. Before closing it, he said, "This door will stay locked, okay? Do not even try to unlock it. I'll have guards waiting outside the door just in case you do find a way out." He clutched her comm, the one that he had taken from her just moments before. "Enjoy your stay."

Natasha sighed when he closed the door. She was all alone in the small room. She wondered how Clint was doing. Obviously, he was probably a mess trying to look for her. But this was the only way that he would be able to leave without anything bad happening to him. All that mattered was that the hostages were safe, and Clint was going to be able to go back to the headquarters without a scratch on him. Natasha wondered what the Director would do when he found out she was missing. Would he blame Clint for it? Or would he just send out a rescue team for her? They would never find her, though. She and Alexei's team were deep underground where no one would ever think to look. Natasha was alone. So far, she didn't enjoy that feeling. She didn't want to be alone. But she had to do this.

She walked towards the door, running a hand over the wood. Then, she put an ear up to the door to see if she could hear anything. There were distant voices and it was a bit hard for her to make out who was speaking. Natasha slowed her breath and tried to block out all other sounds. Soon she could hear Alexei speaking to the guards out there in a low tone.

"Watch out for her," Alexei said slowly. "The Black Widow is a dangerous woman. Make sure she doesn't escape at all. You got it?" The guards responded in perfect Russian. "Great. Thanks, men."

Natasha listened as Alexei walked away in his heavy boots. She backed away from the door, falling onto the bed and just staring up at the low ceiling. Sweat was beginning to drip down her forehead and into her red hair. Her black outfit was making her even warmed, and she wished she had something else to change into. At least Alexei could let her have some different clothes or something. There was no way Natasha was going to sleep in her tight outfit. It definitely wouldn't be very comfortable. Natasha sat up, growing increasingly bored. She had no weapons to take apart and put back together, and she had no one to talk to. She missed Clint.

Clint.

She wished that Clint was with her. She wished that she hadn't of fought with him before she ran away to join Alexei. Natasha realized that she had been a jerk to yell at him for getting jealous during their previous mission. It really was her fault that he had gotten jealous. She had taken the whole seduction thing way overboard. Clint had a right to get jealous and angry at her. And now it seemed she would never be able apologize correctly for getting him so upset. Natasha wondered what he was doing at that moment. She could just picture him getting all worked up and trying to call in the Avengers. He was probably losing his mind because of her. But she had to do this. This was her job.

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"The hell do you mean by "Natasha's gone"? What happened, Barton?" Fury's annoyed face yelled through the monitor. The agents that had once stood beside Clint had shriveled away into the background to avoid their angry commander. Clint silently cursed them all for cowards, leaving him alone like this. He was really beginning to learn how Fury fit his namesake.

"It was a hostage situation. I lost track of her, and returned to base. Soon enough, the hostages all returned to us, but without Natasha. One of the scientists told me that Natasha had traded herself in for all the hostages. I don't know anything more than that." Clint clasped his arm tightly and looked off to the side. He was so stupid for letting her go alone. He should have looked a little bit longer, done a little bit more. If he had, then this might not have happened. Even the possibility of her being all right haunted him. Perhaps, if he hadn't fought with her over that seduction, it wouldn't be like this. That was all it was after all, a seduction. He had known that she wasn't at all serious, but he still took it badly. He should have held himself back more, and now Natasha was who knew where. She could be tortured for all he knew. The thought made him clench.

"The Black Widow and Hawkeye, unable to fend for themselves? I never thought this day would come, and I'm pretty darn sad that it had to. I obviously can't leave you to yourselves with the way this is turning out." Fury rubbed his forehead in irritation before glaring at the monitor. His single eye made Clint flinch. The man was intimidating when he wanted to be. "The Widow is a valuable asset, and we can't lose her." Was she just an asset to Fury? "But she's also someone that we've worked with for many years now. She's come a part of our everyday lives, and we can't lose her now." Clint smiled. Even the commander had a soft spot for Natasha.

"Yes, sir," Clint said with a forlorn look. He sighed and looked back up at the screen. "What do you want me to do?"

"Step one, do nothing." Clint spluttered and moved to protest, but Fury cut him off. "Step two, wait for backup. I'm sending a few men over to assist you. If they were strong enough to force Agent Romanov into submission, then you won't be able to handle them on your own. Rogers and Stark will assist you in this mission." Fury leaned forward on his desk and looked at the monitor. Clint almost felt as if Fury was looking right at him. "You will not go out until they arrive. I will set you up with an untraceable communication link, and you will talk with them about your plans. We don't know how long Romanov has before she is moved or else. Time is off the essence, Barton. Don't let me down."

Again, Clint heard the unspoken word. He had already failed once by letting Natasha be captured, but this time, it would be different. He'd have more people on his side, and they'd get Natasha back. Steve and Tony were good men. Clint didn't have a doubt that they'd get back Natasha. He only worried about what condition she would be in when they got her out. He ran a hand through his hair and mumbled out a "yes, sir". Fury raised an eyebrow at this, but took the affirmative.

"They'll arrive in T-Minus four hours. You should get their call in a moment. I've already ordered them down to the quinjet. Is there anything else you have to tell me?" Fury asked suspiciously. He suspected that there was more to this disappearance than what Clint was telling him, but he couldn't prove it. Unless Clint said something, Fury would have to take him at face value.

"Nothing else, sir." Clint tried to stop himself from looking away from the monitor. If he did, it would be obvious he was lying. He just didn't want to say that he and Natasha had fought previously. It would be taken as a reason for a possible defection, and he didn't want her to be cast under suspicion like that.

"Right. Fury out." The monitor snapped off, and Clint was left staring at a blank screen. He let out a sigh and dropped back into a chair. The chair rolled backwards with him as he twirled around in it. He only had a few moments to think to himself when he heard the ringing of an incoming communication line. Clint scooted his chair up to the panels and looked around the hundreds of tiny buttons. He scrunched up his face before pressing on the one marked _Line 1_.

"How does this thing work?" A familiar voice came over the intercom, and Clint gave a weak smile.

"Hey Steve. It's working, so don't touch anything." Clint heard a surprised yelp and cringed when he heard the tablet fall to the ground. "How about you give it to Tony?"

"Lovely idea. I wonder why the tablet didn't go to the only genius around here in the first place." Tony's voice was just as snarky as ever, and Clint sighed. It seemed like there was no trouble over there. Tony caught wind of Clint's sadness and asked, "Hey, we're on our way. Can you detail us in on everything that happened? We'll try to hurry up and beginning looking as soon as we arrive. Our pilot's already taxiing down the airstrip, so we'll be there soon."

"Natasha and I had a row, so we weren't working that well together." It was easier talking to them than it was to Fury. "We were called in for a hostage situation. The KGB had taken the Budapest base and kidnapped all of the scientists. We fought them in the hallways, but they got away. Natasha seemed to have an idea where they were, but she ran off before she told me where she was going. I tried to contact her, but she ignored my calls. I lost track of her in the city. It was almost as if... she was trying to lose me." Clint frowned at that.

"After that, I returned to base. I waited an hour or two before all the scientists came back, but Natasha wasn't with them. One of the scientists came up to me and told me a message that Natasha had given her. It was a hostage swap. Natasha had given herself up for all the hostages... It just seems so out of character. She would never just give up like that. I don't get it." Clint ran a hand through his hair and let out a depressed sigh. "What do you think of it?"

Silence filled the airspace before Steve said, "Well, she was obviously distracted. Maybe she got in a bad situation, and she was trying to maximize the good of the situation. She's the Black Widow though. She'll probably find a way to sabotage them or get away when they aren't looking. She'll definitely leave us hints. We just have to figure out where they lead."

Clint knew that Steve was trying to reassure him, but he couldn't help but feel a knot in his stomach. What if she wasn't being kept as a hostage, but as a prisoner? He couldn't get the idea out of his head and had spent a few good hours worrying about it.

"Exactly what Captain Spangly-pants has said. And don't worry, Legolas. We'll get her back. Even if I have to hijack all of the cameras in Budapest, we'll get her back. Got it? So cheer up. We're the Avengers. We never lose." Tony gave his pep speech, and Clint couldn't help but feel grateful.

"Thanks, Tony. I'll see you soon then."

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**Author's Note: Hey all! Sorry about the delay. We're finally back in action! Did you miss us? We know you did. (; Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Review if you did?**

**As a side note, OwlMay and I are opening up a tumblr roleplay! It's Avengers and X-Men fandom. Basic plot is: Eight neutron bombs have been detonated over the major capitols of the world, America, China, Canada, Germany, Japan, France, England, and Russia. The governments have been completely wiped out, and the world has been thrown into turmoil. HYDRA, the instigators, have crept into the political sphere and have taken control of these countries. They have declared war on SHIELD and all mutants, blaming them for the attack. Will the Avengers and X-Men put aside their difference to defeat HYDRA?**

**If you want to join the roleplay then PM me, and I'll link you to it. (:**


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